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There’s more to the 2017 Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place than just the feature race. The three-day festival includes support races that should provide all-around entertainment for motorsport enthusiasts.

The NASCAR Pinty’s Grand Prix of Toronto, Indy Lights, Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup, Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, and the Cooper Tire USF2000 Series are collectively interesting because they have a little something for everyone.

And it is not only fans that enjoy the full slate of races. When you talk to some of the participants involved, they are just as excited.

“It’s a really special event,” says 19-year-old Parker Thompson, a Red Deer, Alta., native, who races in the USF2000 and won one of the two races last year in Toronto.

“I have to say Canadian fans are honestly second to none. They just seem to be so much more knowledgeable, so much more interactive, than the rest of the whole tour that we’re on. I would rate them at the top in any event you go to, so that really adds to the event.

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“And the atmosphere is like no other. You’re in downtown Toronto, and I consider Toronto to be one of the cool cities, even though I may be biased being Canadian. The event has been around a long time and that makes it all the more special.”

Alex Tagliani goes into the last lap of Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto Nascar Pinty's Series race with a lead over Andrew Ranger, Daniel Morad, and Kevin Lacroix during day two of the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. (Marcus Oleniuk / Toronto Star)

Brian Belardi, the owner of Belardi Auto Racing, which has had several cars compete in Indy Lights and USF2000 races, agrees with Thompson about the fans and the atmosphere.

“The fans in Toronto are absolutely outstanding. It’s an exciting place to go,” says Belardi.

Belardi Auto Racing swept both of last year’s Indy Lights races with Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist in the cockpit.

Indy Lights is a North American series consisting of 16 races, two in Toronto, over 10 weekends. Contested on road courses and ovals, the series is a primarily a developmental circuit for the Verizon IndyCar Series – kind of like Triple A baseball.

The series is in its 31st year and has developed multiple future IndyCar stars such as Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan – to name just a few. Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe, who is now a star in IndyCar, finished second in the 2010 championship. All drivers race Dallara IL-15 cars powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged Mazda engine.

The series champion is awarded a scholarship valued at $1 million toward a ride in the Verizon IndyCar Series with three guaranteed races, including the Indianapolis 500. Team and driver prize packages total almost $2 million.

Ed Jones, driving for Carlin Motorsport, won last year’s championship by a mere two points over rookie Santiago Urrutia, driving for Belardi. Urrutia was voted last year’s Rookie of the Year.

Shelby Blackstock, who is in his third season and placed eighth last year after placing 10th in 2015, is one of two other drivers on the Belardi team. He’s also the son of country singer Reba McEntire. New to the team is rookie Aaron Telitz, who won the Pro Mazda Championship in 2016.

Toronto’s Dalton Kellett, who drives in Indy Lights for Andretti Autosport, will be racing in his fourth Indy Toronto event. He was recently named 2017 Young Alumni of Distinction by the Toronto French School.

“As far as the course itself, it’s a real street circuit,” Belardi says. “It’s tight and twisty, so drivers on the team definitely have to be on their game. Any time we’re on a street circuit, I anticipate us winning, quite honestly. Obviously, we won twice last year and we’ve won there before, and I anticipate we will again this year. That’s our goal for sure.”

The Cooper Tire USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda is the first rung on the Mazda Road to Indy series presented by Cooper Tires. Indy Lights is the next rung up the ladder in the Road to Indy series.

“The really neat thing about (this series) is helping these young drivers develop their race craft and working with engineers for the first time. It’s a whole new ball game,” says Belardi, who started in auto racing as a team owner at this level. “That’s one of the really cool parts for me – just watching these guys develop when they’re 14, 15 or 16 years old.”

The USF2000 series began in 1990 and consists of 14 North America races. There are a total of 12 teams that began the season with 30 drivers, not all of whom are competing in every race.

There are two Canadians in the series, Parker Thompson and Jayson Clunie. Both race for Exclusive Autosport, the only Canadian team in the Road to Indy series. Thompson is in his third year in USF2000, and last year placed second overall, winning one of the two races in Toronto and four in total. Clunie, who is also a successful businessman, is competing in only two races and it’s uncertain whether he will participate in Toronto.

Thompson says it was “pretty huge” to win last year in Toronto.

“I am a four-hour flight to Toronto from Red Deer, but I do consider Toronto to be my home Grand Prix,” he says. “The fans have really accepted me there. Out of all the wins in my career, I would have to say winning the Toronto Grand Prix was the most special.”

Rookie Oliver Askew, a 20-year-old Florida native, who drives for Cape Motorsports, has won five of the first six races this season.

The NASCAR Pinty’s Grand Prix of Toronto is the feature race on Saturday.

It’s one of 13 races in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, which runs from May through to September at various tracks across Canada.

The Grand Prix of Toronto is the fifth race in the NASCAR Canada series, which is now in its 11th season and second with Pinty’s as the sponsor.

Pinty’s brought the stock car racing series back to Toronto last year after a five-year absence.

The Grand Prix of Toronto is 61.4 miles (100 kilometres), consisting of 35 laps on the 1.755 mile (2.824 kilometre) course.

“I would say the Grand Prix of Toronto is the best race of the year,” says Lacroix. “Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, and (this event) has been a big weekend for a long time because of the Indy. There are lots of people and lots of activities going on, so it’s very exciting to be part of the show. Racing in the streets in any city is what I like the most. Just part of being in an event like this is awesome.”

The 28-year-old from Saint-Eustache, Que., opened the 2017 season with a win, following up on his breakout year in 2016 in which he started all 12 races for the first time.

He recorded two wins and had five top-five finishes. He pinpointed last year’s race in Toronto as the turning point of his season.

“We were quite lucky to finish third because we had some engine and brake issues, and right after this race we fixed the problems and won the last two road course races of the year,” he says. “Our expectations this year are very high.”

Indy Lights 2016 : Zach Veach of Belardi Auto Racing battles it with Santiago Urrutioa of Schmit Peterson Autosports out of turn 11 on day two of the Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. (Marcus Oleniuk / Toronto Star)

Alex Labbe, a 24-year-old native of St. Albert, Que., is also racing full time in the series for the second consecutive year. He recorded his first win last year in Chaudiere, Que., which was special coming as it did in his home province, and he has already won this year. He’s also looking forward to racing again in Toronto.

“It’s a really big city and it’s nice to be the main attraction on the Saturday,” he says. “The hype is pretty good around it. There are a lot of fans there. It’s always fun.”

Labbe placed 12th last year in the field of 24 and is hoping for a top-five finish this year.

“It’s my biggest challenge of the year,” he says. “It’s a really tough track. There are a lot of guys who have way more experience than I have on it. To leave Toronto with a top five would be awesome. I learned a lot last year and I can’t wait to go back.”

The Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup, presented by BFGoodrich Tires, is now in its 12th season. It is a North American series that runs from April to October in six cities, each of which has two rounds, followed by an invitational event. Toronto has rounds seven and eight on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The races are 45 minutes in length with plenty of passing. The starting grid is determined in qualifying the day before.

The series awards $250,000 in scholarships, including $200,000 to its champion and a $50,000 scholarship added this year for the Rookie of the Year. Last year’s series had eight different winners.

Nathaniel (Sparky) Sparks of Spanish Fort, Ala., was the overall winner last year and has returned to the series (normally the winner advances to a higher level). Nikko Reger of Houston and Mark Drennen of San Jose won the Toronto events, which were held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

“It’s an incredible intense racing display, primarily because the cars are very equal in performance,” says Ara Malkhassian, an owner-driver based out of Houston and who has been competing since the series began and has missed only two races. He has finished second overall three times, and two of his drivers have won the championship.

He’s competing with only two or three drivers this year, compared to some years in which he started with as many as half the cars in any given race. This year’s series began with a 34-car entry list.

“We go to places where people come to watch the feature race and every one of the fans who stayed to watch (the MX-5 Cup races) comes over just to shake our hand and say, ‘Man, that’s the most amazing thing we’ve seen,’” Malkhassian adds.

Patrick Gallagher of McCumbee McAleer Racing is the early season leader.

The Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama consists of 12 rounds at six tracks, and is designed to groom drivers for future IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition or professional racing worldwide. The races are 30-45 minutes long.

The 2017 series began in May at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and ends there in early September. In addition to the Honda Indy, the series also has stops at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal (during the Grand Prix of Canada weekend), Watkins Glen in New York State, and the Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres in Quebec each August.

B.C.’s Scott Hargrove, the 2014 champion and runner-up last year, is competing again in the series and says it is becoming bigger every year.

“The Porsche GT3 Cup has been some of the most fun racing of my career,” he says. “The series has grown a lot, the field is more competitive and the atmosphere is more intense than ever. Drivers and fans will be more engaged in 2017.”

Hargrove had the most wins in the series over the last three years and has opened this year with wins in the first four races. He is part of a four-car team racing for Pfaff Motorsports of Toronto.

This year’s series features the debut of the new GT3 Cup car. There are two rounds at every event.

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